Insight and Opinion – Page 48
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UK ports need realism, not optimism
The UK Government delivered its port policy interim review document in mid- July and this raises a number of interesting issues. One in particular appears worthy of comment. The point is made that the UK ports sector is thriving and profitable. Following on from this, structural changes in port financing ...
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NewsShipping and the sun spot theory of economic cycles
In the world of shipping we have eternal optimists who would have us believe that growth in trade has reached runaway proportions and will not stop in the foreseeable future. There is hardly a week that goes by without a leading senior executive telling us that double digit growth in ...
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NewsWill the US port worker ID scheme cut the mustard?
Much discussed, long overdue and after numerous stumbles the Transportation Worker Identity Credential (TWIC) is, again, moving closer to real implementation by the stated deployment target date: September, 30, 2008. Workers at ports and terminals, and those needing access to them, will be required to obtain the TWIC, a smart ...
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Burst that bubble
Give or take a few US politicians, no-one thinks its workable, no-one wants it, it will be expensive but it is in the pipeline. “ It” is, of course, new legislation in the US compelling the screening of all US bound containers at foreign ports.
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NewsHand that feeds
Back to normal in Tuticorin after PSA International made a point to the Indian Government about the weird workings of the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP), the body which, in September 2006, effectively halved PSA’ s revenue at its Tuticorin Container Terminal (TCT) as a result of enforced tariff ...
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NewsDancing out-of-step with the Greenback
The music has not stopped yet. But even though interest rates have risen, the infrastructure deal business has not been slowing down – “ there’ s more money out there than there are saleable assets at the moment – the supply gap is driving up prices” , according to Manju ...
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NewsDakar dealings
Back in the May issue of PS you may recall that there appeared to be some strange things going on with the concessioning of the Dakar container terminal in Senegal. Remember one of the qualifying technical criteria for parties to qualify to submit an Expression of Interest was to handle ...
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Capacity crunch
That word is back again: “ congestion” , and along with it some interesting projections. Two new reports have recently been issued both of which foresee capacity crunches in the port sector.
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Calling the shots on continued congestion
The recent Coastlink Conference in Dublin was the focus of much discussion about the thorny subject of congestion – the problems and potential solutions. There was clearly a perception from the conference as a whole that “ congestion is back and likely to get worse before it gets better in ...
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Is there a danger of diseconomies of scale?
Economic theory and practice tells us that economies of scale have the potential to increase both consumer and producer welfare. Yet there are limits to the advantages that they can bring.
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Taking stock
Other than for a select number of Chinese ports, stock exchange flotation has so far not proved a hugely popular method of raising cash in the international ports industry. Indeed, recent times have seen a number of significant players exit from public listings as they have been acquired by private ...
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NewsLesson in the importance of hinterland competition
There is not a day that passes without a senior industry executive warning of the dangers of congestion and lack of terminal capacity. I have come to the conclusion that this is usually tied to the acquisition of subsidised state funding and\or permissions from state authorities to go ahead with ...
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NewsDoes size really matter in the terminal operating game?
Interesting times in the US, sparked originally by DP World’ s forced sale of its US assets, the former P& O Ports US portfolio.
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Time for Clarity
Port tariff reform is not a subject that “ rings everyone’ s bell” , but it is an important one worth paying some attention to. Larger ports will tend to have the subject fairly high on their agenda; others in the middle range and lower are not always so diligent.
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NewsShow your hand
The Port of Dakar, Senegal is reportedly in the process of privatising its container terminal facilities – or is it?
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NewsThe environmental issue: hot topic or here to stay?
It used to be that we were inundated with newsworthy reports on security issues and the various programmes and schemes with interesting acronyms such as TWIC and CTPAT. The lesson there was that they all have a cost associated with them. Today, the port industry is embroiled in environmental issues, ...
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Re-writing the concessioning small print
It has become increasingly clear in the last two or three years that there is a growing requirement to consider in greater detail the aspect of exit arrangements from a terminal concession or a similar contract that gives management and operating rights to a specific party for a given port ...
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Reality check
In the UK,if you turn on the radio,look at the television or read the newspaper it is virtually guaranteed that you will be exposed to an array of facts, discussions or opinions about the environment. And we are not alone; our colleagues around the world are no doubt being subjected ...
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NewsCapacity drain
It is an interesting phenomenon of the 21st Century that the international container handling market has seen available containerport capacity dry up in so-called mature markets. It happened on the US West Coast and the UK in 2004, and arguably it is happening again now in northern Europe.
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Empty congestion: what in the World is going on?
Let me start with an apology. I just cannot get away from the subject of port congestion. The most recent problems have been caused by weather, labour relations (or rather the lack of them) and empty containers. There are also voices blaming the constant growth in containers coming from Asia.
